Three Choirs Festival Chorus Philharmonia Orchestra Sir Andrew Davis (conductor) Judith Howarth (soprano) Ben Johnson (tenor) Peter Savidge (baritone) Stephen Roberts (bass) Matthew Best (bass) Caractacus Op 35 - Sir Edward Elgar Supported by Severn House Publishers and Peplow Jewellers of Worcester, this mammoth 'cantata' in six scenes with a libretto by H C Acworth was commissioned by the Leeds Festival, and tells the story of a British chieftain who fought the Roman invaders but was defeated at the British Camp on the Malvern Hills (the earthworks of which can still be visited today). Caractacus was taken to Rome for trial but so impressed Emperor Claudius that he was pardoned. Acworth’s libretto is entirely his own. He took several liberties with the historical story by reducing the number of Caractacus’s children to one—a single daughter named Eigen, whom Acworth named after a Malvern neighbor. Acworth also introduces for her a love interest, the character of Orbin. The work was begun shortly after Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee, and Elgar was able to secure permission, through Sir Walter Parratt, to dedicate the work in Queen Victoria’s honor. Although there are elements of the work, including the triumphal march from the final scene, which are clearly patriotic in nature, the work is generally dominated by a pastoral mood. This concert will be recorded for broadcast in September by BBC Radio 3.